Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
March 20, 2019
IRON AND ICE
OSIRIS-REx spacecraft studies asteroid Bennu up close



Tucson AZ (SPX) Mar 20, 2019
When NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at its destination, asteroid Bennu, on Dec. 3, it found a tiny world that in many respects looks like what the mission team had expected based on ground-based observations, but holds quite a few surprises, too. In a series of eight scientific papers published March 19 across several Nature Publishing Group journals, the members of the University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission present their first up-close observations of asteroid Bennu since the spacecra ... read more

IRON AND ICE
Hayabusa2 probes asteroid for secrets
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Mar 20, 2019
The first data received from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft in orbit of asteroid Ryugu helps space scientists explore conditions in the early solar system. The space probe gathered vast amounts of images ... more
MARSDAILY
NASA's Mars 2020 rover is put to the test
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 20, 2019
In a little more than seven minutes in the early afternoon of Feb. 18, 2021, NASA's Mars 2020 rover will execute about 27,000 actions and calculations as it speeds through the hazardous transition f ... more
EXO WORLDS
Carbon monoxide detectors could warn of extraterrestrial life
Riverside CA (SPX) Mar 20, 2019
Carbon monoxide detectors in our homes warn of a dangerous buildup of that colorless, odorless gas we normally associate with death. Astronomers, too, have generally assumed that a build-up of carbo ... more
IRON AND ICE
Surprisingly old surface discovered on near-Earth asteroid Bennu
San Antonio TX (SPX) Mar 20, 2019
A Southwest Research Institute-led team has discovered that the surface geology on asteroid Bennu is older than expected. Early observations of the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mis ... more
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IRON AND ICE
OSIRIS-REx images allow closer look at boulder breakup on Bennu
Tucson AZ (SPX) Mar 20, 2019
High-resolutions images of asteroid Bennu from NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft offer scientists the opportunity to analyze the processes that break down boulders on the surfaces of airless bodies, Plan ... more
IRON AND ICE
OSIRIS-REx spies on the weird, wild gravity of an asteroid
Boulder CO (SPX) Mar 20, 2019
Research led by CU Boulder is revealing the Alice in Wonderland-like physics that govern gravity near the surface of the asteroid Bennu. The new findings are part of a suite of papers publishe ... more
IRON AND ICE
NASA says taking sample from asteroid harder than expected
Washington (AFP) March 19, 2019
After two years crossing the solar system, the NASA space probe Osiris-Rex arrived last December near the asteroid Bennu to complete its mission of collecting a sample - but touching the rock will prove much harder than scientists had expected. ... more
MARSDAILY
Drone maps icy lava tube to prepare for cave exploration on Moon and Mars
Mountain View CA (SPX) Mar 20, 2019
The SETI Institute and Astrobotic Technology, Inc. are announcing the successful mapping in 3D of the interior of an ice-rich lava tube in Iceland using a LiDAR-equipped drone. The team was investig ... more
IRON AND ICE
'Rubble pile' asteroid holds clues to Earth's water story
Paris (AFP) March 19, 2019
An asteroid described as a "pile of rubble" is rich in hydrated minerals that could help solve the mystery of how Earth got its water, scientists said Tuesday. ... more
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IRON AND ICE
Team identifies water-bearing minerals on asteroid Bennu
San Antonio TX (SPX) Mar 20, 2019
A Southwest Research Institute-led team discovered evidence of abundant water-bearing minerals on the surface of the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu. Using early spectral data from NASA's OSIRIS- ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Levitating objects with light
Pasadena CA (SPX) Mar 20, 2019
Researchers at Caltech have designed a way to levitate and propel objects using only light, by creating specific nanoscale patterning on the objects' surfaces. Though still theoretical, the wo ... more
SPACE MEDICINE
Superbugs have colonized the International Space Station
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 20, 2019
Astronauts leave behind many things when they boldly go. Bacteria, however, stay with them. Extreme spaceflight conditions can force these bacteria to toughen up, while simultaneously lowering ... more
OUTER PLANETS
A Prehistoric Mystery in the Kuiper Belt
Laurel MD (SPX) Mar 19, 2019
The farthest object ever explored is slowly revealing its secrets, as scientists piece together the puzzles of Ultima Thule - the Kuiper Belt object NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past on New Y ... more
IRON AND ICE
ESA's Hera asteroid mission borrows eyes of NASA's Dawn
Paris (ESA) Mar 19, 2019
The mission to the smallest asteroid ever explored will employ the same main camera as the mission to the largest asteroids of all. ESA's proposed Hera spacecraft to the Didymos asteroid pair has in ... more


Trembling Aspen Leaves Could Save Future Mars Rovers

TECH SPACE
Acucela Signs Agreement to Develop a Compact OCT for NASA's Deep Space Missions
Seattle WA (SPX) Mar 19, 2019
Acucela Inc has signed an agreement with the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) to develop a compact OCT*1 device for NASA's Deep Space missions. Approximately 63% of lo ... more
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ROBO SPACE
Mathematics of sea slug movement points to future robots
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 11, 2019
What do pizza slices, sea slugs and one possible design for future soft-bodied robots have in common? They all have frilly surfaces, and new insights about the surprising geometry of frilly surfaces ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Controlling thermal conductivity of polymers with light
Chicago IL (SPX) Mar 15, 2019
Polymers are regularly used as thermal insulators for everything from keeping beverages hot to keeping sensitive electronics cool. In some cases, polymers can even be used as thermal conductors to e ... more
MARSDAILY
Rehearsing for the Mars landings in Hawaii and Idaho
Hamilton, Canada (SPX) Mar 19, 2019
Imagine astronauts on Mars, tasked with picking rock samples that will be used by scientists to search for signs of life. But they can only transport a limited number back to Earth. What should they ... more
EXO WORLDS
Neural Networks Predict Planet Mass
Bern, Switzerland (SPX) Mar 14, 2019
To find out how planets form astrophysicists run complicated and time consuming computer calculations. Members of the NCCR PlanetS at the University of Bern have now developed a totally novel approa ... more
SPACE MEDICINE
Dormant viruses reactivate during spaceflight
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 19, 2019
Herpes viruses reactivate in more than half of crew aboard Space Shuttle and International Space Station missions, according to NASA research published in Frontiers in Microbiology. While only a sma ... more
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NASA's Mars 2020 rover is put to the test
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 20, 2019
In a little more than seven minutes in the early afternoon of Feb. 18, 2021, NASA's Mars 2020 rover will execute about 27,000 actions and calculations as it speeds through the hazardous transition from the edge of space to Mars' Jezero Crater. While that will be the first time the wheels of the 2,314-pound (1,050-kilogram) rover touch the Red Planet, the vehicle's network of processors, sensors ... more
+ Trembling Aspen Leaves Could Save Future Mars Rovers
+ Drone maps icy lava tube to prepare for cave exploration on Moon and Mars
+ Rehearsing for the Mars landings in Hawaii and Idaho
+ InSight lander among latest ExoMars image bounty
+ Pathfinder Rover May Have Explored Edges of Early Mars Sea in 1997
+ Bernese Mars Camera CaSSIS Returns Spectacular Images
+ Opportunity's parting shot was a beautiful panorama


Returning Astronauts to the Moon: Lockheed Martin Finalizes Full-Scale Cislunar Habitat Prototype
Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Mar 15, 2019
For long-duration, deep space missions, astronauts will need a highly efficient and reconfigurable space, and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is researching and designing ways to support those missions. Under a public-private partnership as a part of NASA's Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) Phase II study contract, Lockheed Martin has completed the initial ground ... more
+ Floating ideas for an airlock near the Moon
+ Goddard prepares for a new era of human exploration
+ Lunar water molecules hop as surface temperature increases
+ NASA selects teams to study untouched Lunar samples
+ NASA selects experiments for possible Lunar flights in 2019
+ Gateway to the Moon
+ How a vintage film format brought 'Apollo 11' back to life
A Prehistoric Mystery in the Kuiper Belt
Laurel MD (SPX) Mar 19, 2019
The farthest object ever explored is slowly revealing its secrets, as scientists piece together the puzzles of Ultima Thule - the Kuiper Belt object NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past on New Year's Day, four billion miles from Earth. Analyzing the data New Horizons has been sending home since the flyby of Ultima Thule (officially named 2014 MU69), mission scientists are learning more ... more
+ Ultima Thule in 3D
+ SwRI-led New Horizons research indicates small Kuiper Belt objects are surprisingly rare
+ Astronomers Optimistic About Planet Nine's Existence
+ New Horizons Spacecraft Returns Its Sharpest Views of Ultima Thule
+ Tiny Neptune Moon Spotted by Hubble May Have Broken from Larger Moon
+ Ultima Thule is more pancake than snowman, NASA scientists discover
+ New Horizons' evocative farewell glance at Ultima Thule
Carbon monoxide detectors could warn of extraterrestrial life
Riverside CA (SPX) Mar 20, 2019
Carbon monoxide detectors in our homes warn of a dangerous buildup of that colorless, odorless gas we normally associate with death. Astronomers, too, have generally assumed that a build-up of carbon monoxide in a planet's atmosphere would be a sure sign of lifelessness. Now, a UC Riverside-led research team is arguing the opposite: celestial carbon monoxide detectors may actually alert us ... more
+ Neural Networks Predict Planet Mass
+ Cooking Up Alien Atmospheres on Earth
+ ALMA observes the formation sites of solar-system-like planets
+ SETI Institute: Agreement with Unistellar to Develop Citizen Science Network
+ K stars more likely to host habitable exoplanets
+ UK to tackle danger of solar wind and find new Earth-like planets
+ "Goldilocks" Stars May Be "Just Right" for Finding Habitable Worlds
Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome Ready for Space, ISS Launches
Moscow (Sputnik) Mar 19, 2019
One of the routes opened for launches of Soyuz-2 carrier rockets from the Vostochny space center can be used to launch manned and cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), a spokesperson for the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos told Sputnik on Sunday. "Indeed, [the route] with an inclination [of 51 degrees to the equator during launches from Vostochny spaceport] c ... more
+ Brazil leader, wooing Trump, opens base to US rockets
+ Aerojet Rocketdyne Powers WGS-10 Military Communications Satellite from Launch Pad to Orbit
+ NASA heavy rocket may not get off the ground in time for Lunar mission
+ ESA greenlight for UK's air-breathing rocket engine
+ Russia's New Hypersonic Nuclear Weapon
+ SpaceX Dragon 2 pulls off nail-biting landing - here's the rocket science
+ NASA chief acknowledges more trouble with SLS rocket


Super-powerful Long March 9 said to begin missions around 2030
Xichang (XNA) Mar 12, 2019
Chinese scientists are designing what is expected to be the world's most powerful rocket, according to a senior researcher. Li Hong, deputy general manager at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, said the Long March 9 super heavy-lift carrier rocket will be capable of lifting 140 metric tons of payload into a low-Earth orbit, or a 50-ton spacecraft to a lunar transfer orbit. The gi ... more
+ China preparing for space station missions
+ China's lunar rover studies stones on moon's far side
+ China improves Long March-6 rocket for growing commercial launches
+ Seed of moon's first sprout: Chinese scientists' endeavor
+ China to send over 50 spacecraft into space via over 30 launches in 2019
+ China to deepen lunar exploration: space expert
+ China launches Zhongxing-2D satellite
Surprisingly old surface discovered on near-Earth asteroid Bennu
San Antonio TX (SPX) Mar 20, 2019
A Southwest Research Institute-led team has discovered that the surface geology on asteroid Bennu is older than expected. Early observations of the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission indicate a surface that is between 100 million and 1 billion years old. "We expected small, kilometer-sized NEAs to have young, frequently refreshed surfaces," said SwRI's Dr. Kevin Walsh, ... more
+ ESA's Hera asteroid mission borrows eyes of NASA's Dawn
+ OSIRIS-REx images allow closer look at boulder breakup on Bennu
+ NASA says taking sample from asteroid harder than expected
+ Turkish Meteorite Traced to Impact Crater on Vesta
+ OSIRIS-REx spies on the weird, wild gravity of an asteroid
+ OSIRIS-REx spacecraft studies asteroid Bennu up close
+ The powerful meteor that no one saw except satellites


U.S. Air Force tests microwave, laser weapon systems
Washington (UPI) Jan 23, 2019
The U.S. Air Force announced it is planning future experiments involving laser and microwave energy weapons after recent successes in testing sessions. Future experiments in the Directed Energy Experimentation Campaign are planned at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the Air Force said Tuesday in a statement. The tests by the 704th Test Group, essentially the use of mi ... more
+ Radiance Technologies tapped for U.S. Army laser research
+ Lockheed Martin's missile defense laser concept continues toward development
Northrop Grumman awarded $713M for missile defense system for Poland
Washington (UPI) Mar 15, 2019
The U.S. Army has awarded Northrop Grumman a $713 million contract to provide a missile system for Poland as the United States considers setting up a major military base in the former Communist nation. The contract is for the first phase of Poland's Wisla Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, Northrop Gumman said in news releases Wednesday. Patriots are deployed in t ... more
+ Russia stations anti-missile system near Saint Petersburg
+ Pentagon Requests $13.6Bln for Missile Defence in Fiscal Year 2020
+ Raytheon awarded $92M contract for RAM ship defense missile systems
+ Lockheed awarded $945.9M for Saudi THAAD missile system
+ Lockheed Martin awarded $830M for THAAD system development
+ Lockheed awarded $680M for PAC-3 missiles for foreign militaries
+ Raytheon and General Dynamics to operate Reagan Ballistic Missile Test Site


Scientist sheds light on Titan's mysterious nitrogen atmosphere
San Antonio TX (SPX) Jan 24, 2019
A new Southwest Research Institute study tackles one of the greatest mysteries about Titan, one of Saturn's moons: the origin of its thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere. The study posits that one key to Titan's mysterious atmosphere is the "cooking" of organic material in the moon's interior. "Titan is a very interesting moon because it has this very thick atmosphere, which makes it unique amo ... more
+ Cassini data show Saturn's Rings relatively new
+ Scientists Finally Know What Time It Is on Saturn
+ Waves in Saturn's rings give precise measurement of planet's rotation rate
+ Saturn hasn't always had rings
+ Evidence of Changing Seasons, Rain on Titan's North Pole
+ NASA Research Reveals Saturn is Losing Its Rings at "Worst-Case-Scenario" Rate
+ Water on Saturn's Moon Phoebe Is Out of This World
Researchers report new light-activated micro pump
Houston TX (SPX) Mar 15, 2019
Even the smallest mechanical pumps have limitations, from the complex microfabrication techniques required to make them to the fact that there are limits on how small they can be. Researchers have announced a potential solution - a laser-driven photoacoustic microfluidic pump, capable of moving fluids in any direction without moving parts or electrical contacts. The work is described in th ... more
+ Defects help nanomaterial soak up more pollutant in less time
+ The holy grail of nanowire production
+ A new spin in nano-electronics
+ Nanoparticle computing takes a giant step forward
+ Breakthrough nanoscience discovery made on flight from New York to Jerusalem
+ Customized mix of materials for three-dimensional micro- and nanostructures
+ Nano drops a million times smaller than a teardrop explodes 19th century theory


Resolving the jet or cocoon riddle of a gravitational wave event
Bonn, Germany (SPX) Feb 22, 2019
An international research team including astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, has combined radio telescopes from five continents to prove the existence of a narrow stream of material, a so-called jet, emerging from the only gravitational wave event involving two neutron stars observed so far. With its high sensitivity and excellent performance, the 100- ... more
+ US-UK-Australia funding to improve global gravitational wave network
+ Gravitational waves will settle cosmic conundrum
+ New squeezing record at GEO600 gravitational-wave detector
+ Mini-detectors for the gigantic
+ Portsmouth researchers make vital contribution to new gravitational wave discoveries
+ Four New Gravitational Wave Detections Announced
+ Universal laws in impact dynamics of dust agglomerates under microgravity conditions
UK industry to help answer fundamental questions about universe
London, UK (SPX) Mar 19, 2019
A major new physics facility near Chicago is expected to have UK technology at its heart, and lead to significant spin-off opportunities for UK companies. The new PIP-II particle accelerator at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) will power the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, which aims to address key questions about the origins and structure of the universe. The UK ... more
+ New report on industrial physics and its role in the US economy
+ 'Meta-mirror' reflects sound waves in any direction
+ CERN Approves Hunt for New Cosmic Particles at Large Hadron Collider
+ Testing the symmetry of space-time by means of atomic clocks
+ Physicists reverse time using quantum computer
+ Astronomers discover 83 supermassive black holes in early universe
+ Can artificial intelligence solve the mysteries of quantum physics?


Mathematics of sea slug movement points to future robots
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 11, 2019
What do pizza slices, sea slugs and one possible design for future soft-bodied robots have in common? They all have frilly surfaces, and new insights about the surprising geometry of frilly surfaces may help a future generation of energy-efficient and extremely flexible soft-body robots move. The complex folds of a frilly surface like coral reefs or kale leaves is a surface mathematicians ... more
+ New cell-sized micro robots might make incredible journeys
+ Faster robots demoralize co-workers
+ A robotic leg, born without prior knowledge, learns to walk
+ Movie technology inspires wearable liquid unit that aims to harvest energy
+ China is overtaking US in artificial intelligence: researchers
+ Will artificial intelligence be the future of music?
+ Progress on lifelong learning machines shows potential for bio-inspired algorithms
Civilian deaths mount as US drone strikes in Somalia escalate: Amnesty
Nairobi (AFP) March 20, 2019
US forces have "dramatically increased" the number of air strikes in Somalia with several civilians killed by the powerful missiles, Amnesty International said Wednesday, reports denied by the military. Amnesty calculates that there have been more than 100 strikes by US drones and manned aircraft in the past two years, more than the number of US airstrikes in Yemen and Libya combined during ... more
+ Yemenis score legal win in Germany over US drone strikes
+ AirMap and Honeywell develop cost-effective tracking solution for UAVs
+ Northrop Grumman awarded $89M to support MQ-4C Triton system
+ Percepto UAV solution assessed in US operational experimentation program
+ Air Force's Predator, Reaper drones pass 4 million flight hours
+ MQ-9 Reaper drone detachment in Poland is fully operational
+ XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator drone makes maiden flight
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